MASON COMPLETE O F F I C E S O LU T I O N S
MASON COMPLETE OFFICE SOLUTIONS
Shifting Office Supply Business
Inked in SA’s History PRODUCTION: Manelesi Dumasi
Transitioning from a printer to a stationer to a comprehensive office product supplier has resulted in Mason Complete Office Solutions being recognised as one of the country’s industry leading businesses across all areas of operation. Owner, Dave Boulle talks to Enterprise Africa about the challenges of growing this well-established business to meet the needs of a modern consumer.
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The often-unseen work of Mason Complete Office Solutions underpins the business of its clients. Sole traders, SMEs, multinationals, SOEs – they all look to the Cape Townbased office supplier to keep their set-up running smoothly. Whether it’s traditional stationery, IT hardware or solutions, office furniture, promotional goods, corporate clothing or a bespoke product offering, Mason Complete Office Solutions provides a holistic, all-encompassing service for clients that allows them to focus on their core business. But now is an unusual time for the office supplier. Times are changing. Trends are different. The office of tomorrow looks vastly different to the
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office of today. The world is a smaller place and it is easy to bring new ideas to new markets. In each of the clusters in which it operates, Mason Complete Office Solutions faces stiff competition and the threat of online discounters. Enterprise Africa talks to Dave Boulle, Owner of the historic office supply business, about how the business is changing to remain relevant to its valued clients. “We’re definitely seeing a shift with a number of products declining in sales. That is why we are moving into more technological areas such as VOIP, fibre solutions and IT-based products,” he says. “Pen-carbon books for writing invoices manually are dying if not dead. The fax machines have come and gone.
Diary use is declining. There is definitely a move away from some traditional stationery items, but people still use pens and pencils – we haven’t seen a significant change with that. “Even in the IT space we are seeing change. Tower-based PC sales are declining, tablets are no longer as popular as they were, but the role of the laptop has increased significantly.” So Boulle and team are looking at the product range and introducing new items to cater for the needs of a changing environment. But it’s not just with products. Forever holding the vision of providing a complete office solution, Boulle is investigating the potential for offering valuable services to clients. “Although our offering is diverse
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: DISTRIBUTION
and large, the opportunities in the complete office solution as a concept are significant. If we can grow through development of offerings – whether it’s marketing, recruitment, or something else – that is where our excitement comes from. “Right now,” he adds “we are looking at acquiring two other companies and that will grow our account base. The opportunities for growth are significant. We are relatively big in the Western Cape
// I DON’T KNOW OF ANYONE THAT IS DOING WHAT WE’RE DOING IN TERMS OF COMPLETE OFFICE SOLUTIONS //
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but there is still large space around the country for us to grow further, especially if we start looking at increasing other offerings within the complete office solution concept.” Of course, this type of service could prove extremely attractive for clients and potential clients. Being able to outsource all office services from marketing to recruitment, and being able to pair that with the quick and easy purchase of all office products – Mason Complete Office Solutions is close to becoming the first one-stop-officeshop. “I don’t know of anyone that is doing what we’re doing in terms of complete office solution,” says Boulle. “Certainly, there are others who dabble in certain aspects but there is no one who offers the full package that we do. The offering that we have is supported
// WE ARE NOT THE STATIONERY COMPANY THAT SELLS THE ODD CHAIR // by a professional team in each division. I am confident that if we only had the furniture division or only the IT division, we would compete strongly with anyone in the market. We are not the stationery company that sells the odd chair. We can do full floor and space planning and modify solutions to meet specific needs of the client.” Does the company’s long-serving owner consider his business in among South Africa’s best? “No one in any of the industries that we operate in is doing what we are doing so we like to think we are leaders in the space,” he says.
MASON COMPLETE OFFICE SOLUTIONS
INKED IN SA HISTORY The success that the company has realised to date is down to its ability to remain nimble and be innovative, but this comes from a long and strong history. The roots of the business go back more than a century as Boulle explains. “There was a company called Galvin and Sales which started off as a print company in 1913 in Cape Town. It was started by the Alt family and it was handed down through generations. That business grew until 1980 when it was sold to a company called Perskor which was a large print company with offices throughout SA. At the time, the company was owned by Brian Alt and when he sold the print company, he kept a small subsidiary which was focussed on stationery. He named that business G&S Stationers and that is when my father joined as a minority shareholder. They ran that business for 24 years until 2004 when they both decided they wanted to exit.” Boulle saw the opportunity and resigned from his role in a large corporate clothing business to buy the company and revitalise its strategy. He changed the name to G&S Office and refocused to become an office supplier rather than a stationer. “In May 2007, I finalised a deal with Mason Stationers (a company formed in 1983) and I joined the two businesses together to form Mason Complete Office Solutions. The vision then was to create an office solutions company which provided products and services to corporate customers and that concept remains. We like to get involved with corporates and let them focus on what they do while we support their back office. Whether it’s stationery, IT, office furniture, refreshments, promotional goods – it’s a case of letting our customers focus on their core business while we worry about their back office.” Since taking the reins, Boulle has acquired five other local office
businesses and incorporated them into Mason Complete Office Solutions. “When I owned G&S, we had 12 staff and we’re now up to 85 in total.” The next historic step for Mason Complete Office Solutions, one which will help take it to new heights, is the sale of shareholding to improve BBBEE rating. Often a source of so much stress for SA organisations, Boulle says the process has been tedious but smooth. “We are selling off a portion of the business into a women’s education and empowerment trust. Any dividends declared will be used
to fund education for black women in South Africa. The recipients of the shareholding – the Mason Complete Office Solutions Empowerment Trust – will be black women in education. There are other elements that we need to work on in terms of training and development of staff and ensuring our supplier base is as broad-based as possible. “We are aiming for a Level-4 BBBEE rating for our business and that is the minimum for us to be compliant. We will be there in the next six months, if not sooner.”
// WE ARE AIMING FOR A LEVEL-4 BBBEE RATING FOR OUR BUSINESS AND THAT IS THE MINIMUM FOR US TO BE COMPLIANT. WE WILL BE THERE IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, IF NOT SOONER //
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ECONOMIC PICTURE Often an area to be cut when companies face a challenging environment, stationery and office equipment can easily be swapped out for budget alternatives. And considering the recent challenges faced by the South African economy, you could understand if some corporates have looked to cut cost wherever possible. But the spread of service offered by Mason allows the company to ride out any economic hiccup. “In the economy, we can see the contraction, we can see things are not happening as quickly as they use to, and we can see that the growth is not what is used to be – especially with stationery which is the more mature part of our business,” says Boulle. “We are seeing that every day is a challenge as clients are often
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downscaling or changing their purchasing pattern. We are certainly seeing the tough economic climate prevailing at the moment and it has been for more than two or three years. Fortunately for us, the growth comes from other categories. From a sales perspective, our opportunities come from the companies that are not buying all categories from us.” He says that the company is actively seeking to upscale its relationships with existing clients and introduce them to the wider Mason Complete Office Solutions range. As for the economic situation for the country, Boulle feels positive. “I’m optimistic,” he says. “The turnaround is happening – it will take time – but it is happening. I’m confident that we will see a difference in the economy. I suspect that we
might be in a state of limbo until the elections next year. “Government remains a big spender in the economy and previously, there was not big investment given the uncertainty. That was significant in terms of impact on business. I know there are South African companies that are sitting with piles of cash, but they don’t want to invest because they don’t know what the future holds. With Ramaphosa installing policy consistency, I feel companies will start to invest again. We are really hoping that the environment becomes right for growth and development in the country.” Despite any economic slowdown, Mason Complete Office Solutions continues to push forward. Plans are in place to expand further in South Africa by gaining new clients in new
MASON COMPLETE OFFICE SOLUTIONS
// WHAT’S DRIVING US IS STILL THE VISION OF A COMPLETE OFFICE SOLUTION // regions, and to invest into improved digital offerings so that the company can service potential clients across sub-Saharan Africa. “We will certainly look at expanding our base in South Africa first because that’s the biggest opportunity for us and it’s the market we know and understand,” explains Boulle. “Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe are much smaller economies and expansion there could happen if an opportunity arose but it’s not a high priority. I would prefer to develop an online ordering platform where we could outsource the supply of products into a warehouse for distribution around southern Africa, thereby reducing the overheads we would have in any country – that is more exciting and more interesting as an offering. “We already have our website which works as an ecommerce platform, it would just be a case of adapting that for the relevant environment.”
In terms of the product range, Boulle admits that this is something that will continually adapt and accepts that this is a challenge that has always faced the business. He suggests that the tech focus that has been installed will help the business to remain relevant for clients in the future. “The paperless office is a bit of a myth – we’re actually selling more paper than ever before. “We are seeing increased demand for branded technological products. Previously, clients might give away pens to their customers, but now they want to give away branded flash drives. Certainly, tech is the way forward, and certainly tech is where we need to explore strongly. “The role of the cloud, the increase in the power of technology, the growing influence of the IoT means that some things could be completely lost but we don’t think it will be as quick a transition as many
in IT expect. There will be a move towards technology, but it will not be a massive jump that make us redundant. However, we know we have to invest in technology to stay relevant. If we did not offer the tech that we do, we would be facing an uphill battle,” he says. This very-South African business has been delivering quality for longer than many of its clients have existed. And by focussing on a singular vision and by constantly delivering quality, Mason Complete Office Solutions will continue to grow, creating a powerhouse brand that offers a total package. “What’s driving us is still the vision of a complete office solution. The little bit I know about business is that you stick to your knitting as best as possible,” Boulle concludes.
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“I am a chartered accountant by training. I was with the Foschini Group for 11 years in a variety of roles. I started in what was called the computer audit department and I then went to the jewellery division as a financial manager before moving to the Exact clothing division as the divisional manager. I then headed up the credit card division before deciding I’d had enough of the corporate world.”
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